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Richard Stallman's Political Notes

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Guards refuse to comply with health and safety rules over religion

mercredi 6 juillet 2022 à 18:18

Toronto homeless shelters require security guards to remove facial hair so that N95 masks will fit them well, and effectively prevent transmission of Covid-19. This rule is to protect health and safety during Covid waves.

Some guards, who are Sikhs, believe that this rule is unfair to them because complying with it would go against their religion. They contend that the state has no right to enforce rules on them that conflict with their religious observance.

Such a demand must be refused. No one is entitled to set aside a requirement to protect other people's health in order to practice a ritual. In the end, if you won't do the job as it needs to be done, you must leave.

In general, we should let people practice their religions when it doesn't cause a significant problem. For instance, if someone wants to wear a long bathing suit while swimming, there is no reason to forbid that.

It is also good to look for compromises, including with the Sikh guards. For instance, a small beard, like the one I wear now, can fit under an N95 mask. (I cut it to fit underneath.) Such beards should be permitted. Whether that is acceptable to a Sikh, I don't know, but if it is, they should be allowed to wear their masks over these beards.

It is reasonable to insist that an employer offer a worker some other job, when a new rule excludes per from per current job. But people with a religion should not thereby acquire more human rights than Atheists have.